Regional Manager
by 0wwl
Summary: Christian Grey works for a renowned marketing company in Seattle. As they are about to take on a huge new client, he is faced with impressing the the new regional manager. Having never met before, Christian makes a humiliating mistake, but little does he know what this regional manager really has planned for him. *will have BDSM themes* *Christian POV*
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey people! I've finally finished chapter one, so there's that! Before you guys get to it, I wanna point out something I added to the very beginning. I added a description of Christian in the first paragraph. I realize you all know exactly what he looks like already, but this whole thing is a sort of exercise for me to improve my writing and I think being able to describe characters is important. I also made some edits so the story will continue to make logical sense. So, if you're feeling up to it, go ahead and go back to check that out. I would appreciate it! Unfortunately though, I still haven't found energy to proof any of this lol sorry bout that. Alright, enjoy. I'll see ya at the bottom.

DISCLAIMER: The characters and some of the settings in this story belong to E.L. James. I do not claim them as my own. However, the plot is my original idea. Do not steal!

At 7:15AM I walk into the conference room. In fifteen more minutes my Media Director, Account Coordinator and myself from the Seattle branch will be meeting with the Regional Marketing Manager to kick start a huge new project we've been offered. Being the Senior Marketing Manager I have to make a good impression on this guy since he's just been added to the cooperate offices in L.A. about a month ago. We haven't met yet so I have to show him what I can do if I want him to come to me and my branch for future grand scale opportunities. Up until now our clientele has mainly been small businesses, but now we're looking at the major restaurant chain Victus which has recently come under new ownership and looking for a whole new, updated look. I set my briefcase down on the conference table, flip it open and begin pulling out my folders full of our success rates, marketing examples from past ventures and my personal ideas for the current project. I'm feeling slightly panicked as I glance at my watch. Seven minutes. I catch a glimpse of myself in one of the windows and asses my look. I didn't try too hard today, at least not any harder than I usually. I kept it simple with a tucked in dark blue, buttoned shirt, which I was told by a girl I met at a bar a couple weekends ago, complements my grey eyes and my custom fitted black slacks. I roll up my cuffed sleeves as I give my hair a onceover. It's a little messy, but not too messy. In the reflection it looks like a darker brown than it is, almost black, but it all looks good. A pretty young woman comes into the room, I'm pretty sure she's a new temp or possibly an intern. I'm not positive, I've never seen her before, but I take the opportunity to ask for her help.

"Hey, sweetie would you grab me a coffee from the break room real quick? Please, please be fast, I'm meeting with the regional manager in less than ten," She blinks at me and says nothing. My patience is low and I have no time for this.

"Excuse me, did you hear me?" I ask, letting my irritation show. A small smirk crosses her lips as she just brushes past me. I'm pissed at this point and run out to the water cooler right outside the meeting room since I now have less than five minutes. I make a mental note to probably fire her later on.

I come back to the table, greeted now by Kate and Jason. I watch as Jason makes his way to the same girl who just blew me off. He is always the first to hit on the hot temps, but as he spoke my jaw dropped.

"Miss Steele, so glad to finally meet you," He reaches his hand toward her. She takes it and smiles at him.

"Pleasure. Are you Christian?" I swallow hard as I listen to them. What the fuck have I done?

"No ma'am, I'm Jason Taylor, the Media Director." He looks over to Kate who is setting up her laptop and introduces her. My head is spinning. How the fuck does Jason know who this woman actually is and I don't? In the email announcing the regional visit it only said an A. Steele would be coming.

"This is Kate Kavanagh, our Account coordinator." Miss Steele walks over her and shakes her hand. I feel dizzy and Jason turns his attention now to me.

"But this," He motions his hand in my direction, "this is the one and only Christian Grey. Our fearless leader." His smile fades when he sees the look on my face. I'm frozen. Completely frozen. I fucked up, I fucked up so bad, what the hell do I do? I clear my throat and jump from my seat. Miss Steele reaches her hand out to me. Her grin is wide as if she's stifling a laugh. I take her hand in mine, not able to find words.

"Mr. Christian Grey," Her eyes bear into mine and suddenly the room feels so warm. "So excellent to meet you. I do hope you were able to get that coffee." With that she releases her firm grip on my hand. I still say nothing, but offer a small grin trying to mask my embarrassment as I take my seat.

And thus begins the meeting from Hell. Miss Steele makes her way to the front of the long table and has a seat.

"Thank you all for meeting with me today. I'm Anastasia Steele. I've recently been brought on board as the newest Regional Marketing Manager this past April. I want to begin by expressing how excited I am to begin this new chapter for Northbound Marketing. We have been given an amazing opportunity and I simply can't wait to see how we run with it. Though I may be new here, I have been well informed of the talent this team has. I expect you won't let me down." As she says this, she looks right at me. Only for a brief moment, but long enough for me to know she is talking directly to me.

"I'll start by giving a brief background of the project and how it has fallen in our laps. As you all know Victus has served the Pacific Coast with one of the finest steak and sea food menus around for a few decades. Recently, the founder's son Paul Clayton has sold the chain to Robin Adams. Robin is our client for this new assignment. His vision for the restaurant includes an updated menu, keeping only the high demand classics and a modernized look to absolutely everything. Basically he wants to create a new restaurant with the same rich history it already has. As all of you may already be aware, this is no small task. Long time patrons aren't very happy with the coming changes, but it will be our job to make them love it. We're going to do this with new advertisements, a built-from-scratch website and smart phone apps. Even if the old patrons don't bite, we'll be sure new ones do. Either way, we have a crowd to please. I've already pulled numbers on where sales left off when the Clayton sold and I expect that once we're done it will triple. I don't plan to accept anything less.

This project is also time sensitive. Victus will reopen on February 10th, which gives us only six months to build our market. From what I've heard, I believe this team is more than well equipped to tackle this, which is why I chose this company. And I don't plan on doing this alone, so please, any suggestions or feedback s welcome. We'll begin today with strategies and exchanging ideas and we'll roll from there. For right now, I want to hear your thoughts or concerns, so I'll turn the floor over to you." She gives confident smile and takes her seat.

I know that as the branch Marketing Manager it's my turn to lead the conference. I need to pull my shit together. How this meeting started can't change anything. I loosen my tie around my neck and meet her gaze, trying to remember everything I had planned.

"Thank you, Miss Steele. We are excited to have you here as our leader on this project. You are right to have faith in us. We have been the front-runner in marketing revenue here, in Seattle, for over a decade. We have single handedly helped to launch 40% of the local small businesses here and have succeeded in helping 30% of established companies retain their clientele. We plan on the same outcome with Victus. It is a well-loved chain in this state and we not only expect to keep it that way but to utilize it." I begin to pull out the copies of our sales numbers from the past year from a manila folder and say, "If you have any more doubts on our stats, here is our number from this year alone." I hand them to here, but she doesn't take them. Instead, she just smiles condescendingly and says, "That won't be necessary, Christian. I've already reviewed this information on my own time. What I want to focus on right now is Victus and what your vision is."

I should have seen that coming. "Right, um," I scramble through my notes, but find it hard to focus while her eyes are on me. "Well our web design team has already put together a prototype for the new site. It will include a new feature of an interactive menu for people to make mock orders, see the plate as it would be served and read reviews. Also, it will allow potential customers to take a virtual tour through the new setting, which will help them see the lure of the ambiance. Obviously, we won't have that worked out until the construction is over, but we do have the concept art to use for now. Also, we have a patent software created by our very own Jason which allows us to asses all of the searches, hits and various data surrounding the popularity of the site all in one place." I'll take this as my temporary way out. I need to just sit for a minute and let someone, anyone else take the stage. I can't stand her eyes on me anymore.

"Jason, how about you brief Miss Steele on your creation. I'm sure she hasn't seen this sort of thing before." I look in her direction, her eyes still on me. I can't quite read the expression she's giving me. Her eyes are slightly narrowed and her lips are turned up into a small attractive smirk, almost as if she finds something interesting. I know she is most likely mocking me in head. I have to step it up. This might be the worst way her time here could have started. As Jason begins to talk about his program, I take the time to strategize. Maybe I'll visit her office after this meeting, just to apologize for this morning. And then I can better explain the plans I've begun making for the project. I have so many and I completely blew my chance. I had also heard Miss Steele would be looking for someone to be her right hand for this assignment and it could be the break that I need to move up. I've been the Branch Manager for three years now. I love my job, but I know I can do better. One day I hope to be the boss to even Miss Steele as the regional Director, working right under the owner, Jack Hyde.

The meeting ends when Miss Steele says, "Well, I think that's all for now. Thank you everyone. I'm meeting with Paul this week to cement more ideas and I'd like to discuss that with you all next week. Come see me, in my office, anytime if you have questions or would like to share something." As she speaks, she puts all her papers in her bag and stands up. She looks over to me again and I freeze. I've never had this issue with women before. I've had female bosses before and I've never been nervous around them, but then again I've never done stupid shit in front of them either. I meet her gaze, mustering up the courage to approach her and apologize for my earlier comment, but Kate steps in my line of vision. I look at her, feeling grateful, but a little annoyed at the same time. I have to apologize eventually.

"Hey, Christian," Kate greets me, "You doing ok today?" Was it that bad?

"Hey Kate, yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"I don't know you seem a little of your game today. Everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah Mondays, ya know?" Out of the corner of my eyes I see Anastasia leave the room.

"Definitely. Well, if you have a minute later, I have a question about one of the accounts I was reviewing last week. Something seems off in the numbers."

"Oh yeah, of course. If I forget, just remind me before you leave." I say, not completely paying attention to the conversation.

"Thanks. Now pull yourself together. You look pale." She gave me a concerned looked before exiting the room, herself. What the fuck is wrong with me? She's right, I need to pull myself together.

I walk out of the room and head to my office. It's a corner office with decent view of the Pacific. I don't have much of a knack for decorating so it's simple with all black leather furniture except for the glass desk which is directly in front of the window. I have a couple pieces of artwork which were gifted to me by my sister, Mia and potted tree sits in one of the corners due to my mother insisting how important it is to have indoor plants when you're inside for so long. I never really had to water the thing, so it didn't bother me. My favorite part of my office, though, is the 75 inch flat screen mounted to the wall across from my desk. If I was ever working late, I didn't have to miss my favorite games which made it all worth it. I set my briefcase down next to my desk and have a seat behind it. Andrea, the secretary had left a couple messages from calls I missed during the meeting written down for me, but I move them off to the side for now. I turn on my Mac computer to take a look at what I have to get done today, but I know I won't be starting any of it just yet. I left my finger over the intercom button, about to ask Andrea is she would bring me the cup of coffee I never got, but I stop. My mind wanders to Miss Steele again and I decide to get my own damn coffee. I get up and make my way to the break room. As I do, I pass the office Anastasia will be in while she's here. I can't help but glance over at it, but I notice she's not there. I finally reach the break room and it's empty. And so it the coffee pot. Great. I sift through the cabinets, looking for the ground coffee and sugar. I honestly don't even know when the last time I made my own coffee was. Once I'm waiting for the coffee to brew I hear someone come in. I look up slowly, feeling sluggish since I never usually have coffee this late and see Anastasia as the door closes behind her.

Since I don't have the rush of a meeting about to start, I'm able to take a better look at her. Her hair is a chocolate brown color of lose curls falling past her shoulders. Her skin is fare which makes her deep blue eyes somehow look deeper and her body is damn near perfect. She's beautiful.

When she sees me, she smiles.

"Christain," she acknowledges me while heading over to the refrigerator.

"Miss Steele" I say casually as I turn back towards the coffee pot. She says nothing in return, pulling a yogurt out of the fridge. She lets the door close behind her and she starts to leave, but now's my chance to apologize to her.

"Um, Miss Steele," I say too urgently. She stops and looks over her shoulder, smiling again at me.

"Christian, you don't have to call me that, right now. It's Ana, please." Unsure of what she means by "right now", I welcome the informality.

"Well, Ana," I correct myself and I realize how much I like how her name sounds, for some reason. She allows the rest of her body to face me now as she waits for me to finish, "I just want to apologize for my mistake this morning. I'm truly embarrassed," I confess.

She responds in a way I wasn't quite expecting. She laughs, "Oh, you're forgiven, Christian. Unfortunately that wasn't the first time something like that has happened to me," she takes a few steps in my direction as she speaks. With every step, I seem to become somehow more aware of her. She stops just a couple feet away from where I stand and says, "I don't get offended anymore. I just get immense pleasure from showing people who's boss."

Ok she's hot. I'll just say it.

I only manage a smirk in response and say, "Well, thank you for being understanding."

She chuckles and says, "I try," as she turns once again toward to door and walks out.

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this update! Plenty more to come, promise! I wanna take a sec to thank each and every one of you who have followed, favorited or reviewed this story! That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I hope you all stick around to see where this goes with me. Should be pretty alright : ) As always, I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have!

Anyway, I hope to have chapter 2 up pretty soon. Stay kinky, friends.


	2. Chapter 2

The week has gone by surprisingly slow. It's Friday morning and I'm more excited than usual for the weekend. With the Victus project in our laps, the weekly load has seemed more hectic. This week alone I have twelve client accounts to oversee. That's not including Victus. My whole team has been feeling the heat this past week and it doesn't help having Ana Steele here supervising our every move. I won't complain, though. This is exactly the kind of traffic the company needs. I'm in my office coordinating a few marketing activities and policies for a spa we just took on. I look at the clock— only 12:15pm— but that means it's time for lunch. It would probably be smart to work through it today with everything I need to get done before the weekend, but I need a break. I push away from my desk and stretch my legs. I haven't stood up for hours and my legs are complaining for it. I exit my office and head to the elevator. As I do, I pass Ana's office and before I realize what I'm doing, I'm lightly tapping my knuckles against the door frame.

"Come in," I hear her say softly. I take a step through the doorway and see her at her desk. Today she's wearing a dark red dress that fits her perfectly. Her brown hair is tied up in a bun with small loose strands falling around her face. She looks up at me, sobering my thoughts.

"Christian," she says with a small smile, "can I help you?"

"I was just about to head out for some lunch and was wondering if you'd join me?" as I spoke, I mentally hit myself upside the head. What the hell am I doing? I can't have lunch with the woman. I don't even know how to speak to her.

She considered this for a moment before saying, "I'd love to."

"Great, I'll tell Andrea to hold any of our calls," I stepped outside the room and headed to the front desk, shaking my head at myself. _You dumb ass._

As I'm waiting by the elevator for Ana, I try to conjure up anything I can think of for conversation material. There's always work stuff, but I feel like I want to talk to her about more than that. There's just something about her that makes me want to get to know her. Maybe more than I should. Well, at any rate, if all else fails there is always the weather.

"Ready?" she asks as she walks up to me and presses the down button before I have a chance to.

"Definitely," I said feeling not ready at all. We step inside an empty elevator which is odd for this time of day. In the small space, I notice the perfume she's wearing. I didn't notice it at all in her office, though. Maybe she had just put it on? It's an intoxicating fragrance. One I don't think I've ever smelled before and it somehow seems like it was meant for her, as if it wouldn't smell nearly as good on anyone else. Once again, Ana breaks my trance.

"Where are you planning to go?" she asks stepping onto the granite tiled floors in the main lobby of the U.S. Bank Centre building. The main entrance area of this building is well equipped with restaurants and various retail stores, but I want, no, need some fresh air if I'm going to engage in conversation with this woman for an entire hour.

"I know a great place a couple blocks from here that has the best poutine," I say following her through the revolving door. "This way, to your left," I guild her politely with my hand.

"Poutine, huh?" She chuckles as we make our way to my favorite pub.

"Yes, poutine. Have you ever tried it before?"

"I can't say I have. Isn't it just fries and gravy or something?"

"It's just fries and gravy if you have it at the wrong place," I say "You'll hopefully learn today that it's much, much more than that."

"We'll see about that," she says back with a smug laugh and we arrive at the restaurant in no time. We decide to stay at the bar since we won't have too long to eat. We also decide to get just one drink, which I for one am thankful for. I go for my favorite draft IPA and she orders a glass of Merlot.

Looking at the menu, she says, "So Christian, I don't usually like people choosing my food for me, but since you're the poutine guru, what's your recommendation?"

"Don't worry, you're in good hands. I've tried all their different options," I say and she laughs. This is going surprisingly well so far. "For beginners, like yourself, I usually recommend the traditional, but I don't know, I have a feeling about you," as I say this, I take a drink of my beer and she lifts her eyes to mine and smiles. I almost choke as I swallow. It was not a normal smile. This one was…seductive almost, but I push to continue my thought, "So um, I think you'd really like the Butter Chicken option."

Her eyes return to the menu as she scans the description. "Hm, alright. I'll try it."

We place our order and continue to talk as we drink.

"So, you're from L.A. right?" I ask her.

"Yes," she sips her wine, "I'm just here until Victus relaunches and then I'll be going back."

"I see," I say feeling more disappointed than I should, "But how are you liking Seattle so far?"

"It's been nice. I haven't experienced much in the week I've been here, but it's a beautiful city. Are you from here?"

"No, actually. I'm from Colorado. Graduated from CU and then came out here."

"That's nice," As she spoke our food arrived. I lean back in my seat as she eyes her plate and I grin. She almost looks out of her element and the view is somewhat endearing.

"So this is poutine," She says glancing at me nervously.

"The one and only," I say ready to dig into mine. "Go on, try it." She picks up her fork and carefully selects a small bite. She chews for a moment and I find myself anxious for her review.

"Wow," she says, taking another bite. "Wow, this is actually really good!"

I laugh, "Another successful conversion! Welcome to The Dark Side of Poutine. I hate to tell you, but you'll most likely become addicted."

She smiles and says, "I wouldn't have believed it ten minutes ago, but you might be right."

Satisfied, I begin eating as well. We're quiet for a moment while we focus on our food, but that's the one thing I don't like about eating with others. The conversation slows down every time the food is in front of us.

I wash my bite down with some more of my beer, probing my mind for something else to talk about, but she beats me to it.

"So Christian, tell me about yourself. Who will I be working with for the next few months?"

I go for another large gulp of my beer before I answer, 'Well, I love my job. When I'm not loving my job, I like to be social, I guess. I like meeting new people and trying new things." Her eyes are on me again as I speak.

"Oh?" She smiles. The seductive smile again and I can't tell if I'm just imagining it at this point. "What's the most recent new thing you've tried?"

"Golf," I reply shortly.

She laughs, "Golf? That's not as adventurous as I'd imagined."

"Yes, well it is to me. It always seemed like a bore so I stayed away from it, but a buddy of mine kept insisting, so I gave it a try against my initial judgement."

"And what's the verdict?" she asked, taking the last sip of her wine.

"I love it."

"Oh, really?" she eyes me.

"Yes, really. It's fun and easygoing. I can see myself making a hobby of it."

We had finished our food now, both plates completely empty and I place cash down for the check.

"Thank you, Christian, "Ana says. Glancing at her watch, she begins to stand. "Unfortunately, it's time to head back."

I rise as well and let her lead the way out of the restaurant. As we walk back, we continue to small talk about work, but I never get the chance to return her question. Who will _I_ be working with for the next few months?

Back at the office, I try to get all of my work done. Frustration builds as my mind continuously wanders back to my time with Ana. I felt it had gone well, considering my dread over it. I'm finding myself wanting more time with her. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing since I'll be working closely with her for six months, but I know that what I'm feeling isn't exactly good either.

It's now four o'clock, which means I only have an hour until I get to go home. The thought is exciting and motivating. I'll be damned if I work late tonight. I'm finished with drawing up the last contract we need to negotiate with our new clients which means I only have to go over and analyze a few business development plans and then I'm done. I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I call, stupidly hoping it would be Ana, but of course it's not. Jason steps halfway through the door.

"Hey man, almost quittin' time. Just seeing if you're still down for the bar tonight."

"Yeah, I'm in. I'll meet you in the lobby after five." I say. Jason nods and closes the door.

I had completely forgotten about going out tonight. A part of my feels too tired to do anything, but a bigger part of me feels like I need this. I get back to work, now with more incentive to finish on time. When five o'clock finally comes around, I pack everything up, switch my computer off and head out. Ana's office door is open as I pass it. I stop in front of it again, this time to see her gathering her things, about to leave as well.

"I'm headed out, Ana," I say. "Jason and I are gonna get a drink at a place not too far, would you like to join us?" I ask, wishing she's say yes and wishing Jason would disappear.

"That's ok, Christian, I'll leave you guys to it, but thank you." she smiles. All of the easy seductiveness from earlier is now gone and nothing but a professional façade remains. "And thank you again for lunch. It was nice. I can't stop thinking about that poutine." And she winked. Ana winked. At me.

"Anytime, boss, "I say quickly, trying to hide any trace of disappointment or embarrassment. "Have a good weekend. See you Monday."

"Goodnight, Christian."

I continue to make my way over to the elevator. I press the down button and wait, assuming Jason is already in the lobby. I look at my watch and see the time is now a quarter after five. The elevator is taking its sweet time tonight. After what felt like forever, the gold doors finally slide open. I step in and press the down button. The doors are beginning to close when I see Ana step out of her office. I throw my hand in front of the moving doors and they retract.

"Thanks!" she calls as she rushes in.

"No problem," I reply. We're on the 18th floor which isn't really that far up, but the ride down seems slow this time.

"Any weekend plans?" I ask, cutting through the silence.

"I'll actually be out of town. I need to go back to L.A. to finish a few things and get some stuff I left behind."

"Oh, well that should be nice. You can maybe see some family or something." I say nonchalantly.

"Not exactly. Most of my family lives in New York, where I grew up." She said, shifting her weight to one leg, which moved her closer to me. But, I thought she was from L.A.? "My cat is still in L.A. though. She's one of the important things I need to get. I've been having someone watch her this past week, but I miss her too much." She smiled and looked at me. The doors open, then and we step into the lobby.

"Well, I hope you have fun tonight," She said with a strange look on her face. Almost as if she disapproved.

"Thank you," I said hesitantly. "And have a safe trip." She turned away from me then and made her way to the revolving doors.

Ana has a _cat_? That she _misses?_ For some reason the whole idea of it seemed odd. Ana was kind and professional, but there seemed to be something almost cold about her. Maybe a cat _does_ make sense after all. I spot Jason then.

"Man, this week has been shit." He said once I reached him. "Ready to unwind?"

"More than you know," I slapped his back and walked toward the doors. _Unwinding is just what I need._


	3. Chapter 3

It was dark and crowded in the bar. The smell of alcohol thick in the air. It's your typical scene of Seattle Night Life with too many people packed into a small place. I'm not proud to say that I frequent this bar often, but I do. It's usually the place I come to on the weekends, after work. The bar has a sort of high end sports bar feel and I've had a number of good nights in this place.

Jason and I are sitting at the high top bar, drinking pints of our favorite tap. It's still early and we're really only just getting started.

"I'm telling you man, I hope next week is nothing like this week. I mean, I like being busy, but damn! I don't think I or anyone else can take it if the next few months are set at this pace," Jason said, after he knocked back the last of his beer and waved down the bartender for a third round.

"I hate to break it to you, but I think it will be," I chucked.

"Pft, yeah I bet you wouldn't mind it since you're getting all personal with Ana." He said, already downing a third of his new drink.

"What are you talking about?" I look at him, confused.

"I heard you two had lunch. And you keep stopping by her office all day long."

I laugh at his comments. "Ok one, I don't stop by her office all day and when I do it's because checking in with her is part of my job. And two, I'm trying to be nice to her because I made an ass of myself on Monday." I take another drink of my beer, finishing it.

Taylor simply shrugs and orders me another beer as well. "Keep up," he said, pushing it toward me.

I really didn't want to talk about work at all tonight. The whole reason I came out was to unwind and forget about this week. I can't completely explain why I did what I did next, but I can try. Two beers in, I thought the only way to get Jason off the subject of Ana and work would be to get the party started by chugging the newest pint he had just placed in front of me. So, I did.

"Wooh! That's what I'm talking about, man! Fuck this week!" Jason yells and finishes his again too.

"Two more, please!" I call out to the bartender slamming my empty glass down in front of me.

"Yes! Let's do this!" He howled, taking what was now our fourth beer in his fist and downing it in seconds. Which evidently meant my plan had stupidly worked.

And now it was on.

We just started chugging beers like we were in college again. Not a care in the world and it was great. At this point I lost all count of how much we had drank. I raised my glass high and yelled, "To the fucking week ending!" Jason slammed his glass into mine. They possibly broke, but we didn't care. The night was in full swing.

It was then that I noticed a girl across the bar smiling at me. She was blonde with a pretty face and with a couple friends. In my drunken state I smiled back at her but became distracted by Jason yelling.

"Christian! Christian! Dude! Where the fuck is my beer?! What the fuck happened?! Christian!"

The bartender had probably cleared away the most likely broken glasses. I looked down at the bar and surely enough there was a huge puddle on the counter. Obviously I couldn't clearly explain this to my friend, so I simply responded with, "We need more beer!" and another round ensued.

We continued to drink, yell and crack the fuck up about nothing at all for hours into the night until I realized I really had to piss. I got up to hobble my drunk ass to the restroom. As I made my way to the back of the bar I noticed the blond girl again. She was actually standing directly in my way for the bathroom. Fuck.

"Hey!" She called to me. She had obviously had quite a bit to drink tonight as well.

"Hi," I smiled at her without breaking my stride and passed her. If I hadn't, what could have followed would have been embarrassing for everyone. I made it the restroom, quickly did my business and then exited. I noticed the girl was no longer where she stood before. Confused, I stumbled back the bar top where I had left Jason. As I go closer I saw the blonde sitting at my seat talking to my friend. He saw me approach and roared my name.

"Christian! My fuckin man! This is Gia! Isn't she fucking hot?!" Before I had time to answer him, let alone fully comprehend what he had said, the girl giggled, turned to me and hugged me. I stumbled as her weight crashed into me, but I hugged her back.

"Heyyy beautiful!" I said far too loud to be talking to someone literally two inches away from me. "Why'd you take me seat?!" I slurred, not entirely sure what was going on anymore.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around me again, not any more gentle than the first time.

"I just wanted to meet you!"

I pulled away from her, forgetting she already knew my name. But still, I yelled, "I'm Christian!"

"What?!"

"Christian!"

"What did you say?"

"My name! Is Christian!"

"Oh!"

"And I'm Jason!" Jason yelled followed by a hiccup.

I looked over at my friend who was beginning to use his empty glass as a telescope.

"Jason, go home!" I yelled at him. He eyed me through his telescope for a moment before yelling back.

"Yeah ok!" He clumsily lifted himself from his barstool and stumbled to the door. As I followed him out to the street, I realized Gia was still with me. And she was holding my hand.

I hailed Jason a cab with my free hand and shut the door once he had fallen in.

The night seemed over to me, now. I felt ready to go home and pass out, but Gia was now getting closer to me. Before I knew it, her mouth was on mine and all I could think was _this is not cool_. Her kissing was sloppy and hurried. Her hands were moving all over. They then moved to my groin area and she somehow said the words, "Let's go to your place," without taking her lips off of mine. I was becoming convinced that if I didn't stop her, she would kneel down in the middle of the sidewalk and give me head right then. She was drunk. I was drunk. Usually this would be a sure thing for me, but I just wasn't feeling it. Immediately I put my hands on Gia's shoulders and pushed her away.

"Heyyy, I'm actually just gonna call it a night. I got, um, so much stuff. So much. So, yeah. Sorry." I said, stepping away from her.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She slurred.

"Uhhhh, no. No, I'm not." As I spoke, I hailed another cab and it pulled up to the curb.

"Go fuck yourself, Christopher!" She screamed at me. I tried not to laugh at her screwing up my name and I got in the cab as fast as I literally could.

I woke up the next morning at eleven thirty in the morning. I only wake up this late if I've been drinking the night before. I roll over and instantly the headache hits me. Hard. I groan as I lift myself out of bed and head straight to my medicine cabinet. I have no tolerance for headaches.

I then slowly move to my refrigerator and chug two bottles of water in under sixty seconds. I sit on my couch, keeping my blinds closed and begin to try to recover.

My apartment is located in Westlake which is just a couple miles north of where I work. I'm only about a block away from Union Lake, but I still have a pretty decent view of it from my living room since my flat is facing east and on the fifth floor. My complex has a fairly modern look to it, which I like. Modern style is the easiest for me to work with. I feel like it already looks nice, so I don't have to do much. There are large windows in both the living room and bedroom, so I get a great view and don't have to worry about any wall art for the most part. To be honest, the setup of my apartment is pretty similar to my office. I like to keep it simple. The main colors are mellow with tans, blacks or greys. I've stuck with mainly black furniture, all of which I'm pretty sure I got from Ikea. Now that I'm thinking about it, my apartment is basically an Ikea catalogue, which I'm perfectly fine with. My favorite parts of my place are the tiled fireplace that's under my mounted flat screen TV and my patio. It's located directly outside my living room, so it has the great view. I have a grill out there and no matter what the weather is like, you'll find me grilling almost anything. That's the only way I'll cook, really. Overall, I'm really proud of this place. I moved here after I got my promotion to branch manager and I'm so glad I did. And I won't lie, every girl I've ever brought home with me loves the place too.

This got me thinking of last night. It was fun, but I felt surprised with myself that it wasn't wilder. Then I remember Gia. She was a pretty girl. She had a nice body and a cute face, but I could tell she was wearing a decent amount of makeup, which is fine. Some people are into that, but I'm not, personally. I keep thinking about the fact that I turned her down. Regardless of the girl's makeup, usually I would have had no problem with taking her home. I haven't even had sex in a while, so why didn't I break my dry spell if I could?

Unwillingly, I thought of Ana. She's somewhere in L.A. by now, I'm sure. Getting her cat. That's still weird to think about. I then think about our lunch and how easy going it felt. I think about Monday and what it will be like to see her again.

 _What the fuck, man? Chill out._

I cut off my own mind. Is that why I didn't go home with Gia? A hot, perfectly willing woman? No. That can't be it. I just wasn't in the mood.

 _Since when am I not in the mood?_

I physically shake my head, not wanting to think about this shit anymore. It had been an unusually long week. I was tired. That's it. It had nothing to do with Ana. She's just my boss and I barely know her. But a part of me wasn't convinced, which was fucking irritating.

 _Maybe there's only one way to find out._ I thought to myself. _Get some rest and try this shit again tonight._

It was such a stupid idea, but a part of me knew I had to do it. I had to prove to myself that last night was just a fluke. And it was then that I decided.

I'm going out again. Because I'm a dumb ass.

AN: Wow, it's been a long time. I'm sorry! With school finals and the holidays, I was all over the place. Plus, I started binge watching Suits during all my free time. So, blame Amazon Prime and Gabriel Macht.

I'll be better! Promise!


	4. Chapter 4

It's all a blur. As I struggled to regain consciousness, broken images from last night flashed behind my still closed eyelids. I could tell it was bright out, which only made my eyes want to remain sternly closed.

 _What happened last night?_ As if to answer my question, I felt movement next to me, followed by something heavy and warm slap against my back. My eyes shot open.

 _Oh fuck._

My body froze in an all too familiar way. Many a morning have I woken to a stranger in my bed from the night before. This feeling, though it was familiar, was not comforting. I mean, this was what I wanted. Right? The whole point of going out last night was to get laid, so why did I feel sick? Not hangover sick, however that was definitely there too, but… guilty-sick? My stomach twisted as I lay there, eyes finally wide open.

 _Oh fuck! This isn't even my place!_ This was so unlike me. I never go to the girl's place, I always bring them back to mine. _What. The fuck. Happened last night._ I stayed perfectly still, listening for any sign of deep sleep from the stranger next to me. The sound of long, even breaths gave me the assurance I needed to readjust and evaluate my surroundings. I twisted from my side to face up towards the ceiling. Ever-so-slowly, I moved my head to the left. Next to me, sprawled like a starfish on her stomach, was a girl I could not recognize. Her face was buried in her pillow and her dark hair fanned out around her head. She was out cold. I glanced around the room looking for the nearest exit. It must have been a gift from heaven that this girl lived in a tiny studio apartment, so the door to leave her room was the door to my escape. I slowly raised myself from the bed which felt much like how I imagine raising from the dead would feel. I silently thanked my drunken self for throwing my clothes into the same pile on the floor. Under that pile was my phone with a glorious twenty percent battery life remaining. I dressed as quickly and quietly as I could. With my head pounding, I tiptoed to the door. As it closed behind me, I released the breath I was holding in.

"Thank fucking God," I sighed to myself. I looked around, trying to get a sense of where I was. Thankfully I wasn't far from home. I decided to save the battery life on my phone by not ordering a ride home. I knew it would only be about a fifteen minute walk from here and most importantly, I needed coffee. Even more importantly, I needed water and an aspirin. The crisp city air felt good on my whole body as I made my way to the nearest corner shop. I got myself a bottle of pills with some water and headed straight to the coffee shop next-door. It was a small, local coffee joint. Not one I've even been to but it would have to do the trick. I made it to the counter, ordered and moved to the pickup area. I leaned on the counter as I broke open the bottle of aspirin and popped two pills in my mouth. I washed them down with my water and took a moment to look around me. As my coffee order was called out with my name, I saw her. Ana was there. Sitting alone at a small round table, typing rigorously on her laptop. I froze in my place, suddenly too aware of how much of a mess I must look right now. I prayed to myself hoping she hadn't seen me and won't at all. Just as I turned back around to take my coffee and run, the barista called out my name again. Louder this time. I cringed as I thanked him, threw a dollar in the tip jar, and started to walk away.

My chin was connected to my neck as I tried to duck passed where Ana was sitting. I had almost made it past her when I heard her voice say my name.

"Christian?" _Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck._

I spun around to meet her gaze.

"Ana!? What are you doing here? I thought you were in L.A." In my panic I realized I was leaning towards her for a… hug? Dear God.

You know those awkward half-hugs one must occasionally endure? The ones where neither party knows where to put their head, face or hands? This was one of those hugs. The hesitation that happened once I realized what I was doing only made it worse, I'm sure.

"I was, but I got back early this morning. I'm here catching up on some work before tomorrow," She answered as I pulled away, putting as much distance between us as possible. She looked perfect, of course. Not at all like she had been on a plane all morning.

"Oh, well I hope you had a nice trip. Did you get your cat?"

"Yes," she chuckled, "He is at my apartment, acquainting himself."

"That's great. Well I won't keep you. We'll see plenty of each other in the office tomorrow and I uh, I have to meet someone for brunch," I lied through my teeth.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Christian" she said, ever so politely, but I could tell from the smile on her lips that she could see right through me.

I began to turn towards the door when she added, "By the way, I like that perfume you're wearing. It's quite floral. A little feminine, I suppose, but it suits you". She winked as she spoke. I looked back at her in horror, feeling the heat rise in my face. I had no time to think of a good response.

"That's funny." I responded with a curt tone and left the all-too-small coffee shop.

I'm not proud of this, but once I had made it home, I had a small breakdown. I ordered a dozen doughnuts from a bakery close to my apartment and proceeded to wallow in self-pity while I ate every last one.

 _Why does this keep happening to me? Why can't I just keep my cool around that woman? And what the fuck happened last night?_

I needed to pull myself together. I needed to make sure I never embarrassed myself around Ana again. She seemed to get some kind of pleasure from my discomfort and I wasn't gonna give her that pleasure anymore. I remembered her mentioning that she was catching up on work before tomorrow. She probably is the type to never really stop working. If I wanted to keep up with her I needed to do the same. Maybe just focusing on work is what I need to get my head back on straight. I grabbed my work bag and headed to my home office. I pulled out some material and got to work. Every twenty or so minutes I refreshed my coffee, which reminded me why putting a Keurig in my office was such a genius idea. I was going through my emails and responding to a couple so I wouldn't have much of that to do once I was in the office tomorrow when my phone lit up. A text had come through from an unknown number. I opened the massage and my heart stopped beating for a second.

Hey Christian its Ana, from last night. I had a good time with you! Give me a call sometime so we can do it again. ;)

Thankfully my brain caught up with me as I realized this was not the Ana I had thought it was. Or hoped it was?

I shook my head and let some recovered memories come through.

 _I had met a girl last night. Obviously. But I met a girl while at one of the bars. Her name was… Claire. That's right. Claire and I were dancing and flirting and about to go home together. But what happened? I didn't go home with her._

I shook my head again.

 _She had a friend._ I didn't talk much to her friend until we both went up to the bar for last call. Little by little, images from the night before returned to me. I had been ordering myself a drink next to Claire's friend. Was her friend Ana? Am I that much of a sleaze that I would get between friends like that? Just as the guilt started to rise in my gut, it hit me. Another girl came up to the bar too.

"I'll take a beer and close out my check please!" she yelled over the music.

"What's he name on the card?" the bartender yelled back.

"Ana!" she called out and my attention was locked on her.

"Your name's Ana?" I slurred.

"Yeah, hi, I'm Ana," she giggled, "What's your name?"

"I'm Christian. Will you come home with me? Please?"

And the rest was history.

I sat there for a moment, considering everything I had just remembered.

I begged a woman named Ana to come home with me. Didn't know her. Just her name.

 _Ana._

A/N: Hey guys! Remember me? If not, that's ok, but hopefully you remember my story! I know it's been FOREVER since I added a chapter here and I'm really sorry. I got all caught up in life and writer's block is a huge bitch. I won't promise regular uploads because as of right now I'm in my last few semesters of college so free time is extra limited, but I do promise to keep updating, whenever I can, until this story is done. That is, if anyone still even cares to read it. Anyway, this chapter isn't much and I'm sorry about that too, but I just wanted to get something up for anyone still reading. I'll be working on the next chapter today before class, while I'm at work. It feels good to be back! Hope no one hates me too much! See ya'll in the next chapter! Until then, stay kinky friends. XOXO


	5. Chapter 5

The office was quiet in the morning. It's always quiet here in the mornings, but Monday mornings are the quietest. I looked around the cubicles as people worked. Every eye looked tired and every desk was equipped with cups of coffee. I was walking to the breakroom so that I could get coffee for my own desk. _If I have a separate Keurig for my office at home, why don't I have one for my office here?_ I thought to myself as I walked through the door. It was just my luck that Ana was there. She stood leaning against the counter that held the microwave. Inside, a cup of oatmeal spun around. Ana, of course, had the only eyes in this place that didn't look tired. She looked refreshed and quite frankly, beautiful, as always. She was looking down at a book that was in her hands and must not have heard me come in. Her long brown hair fell around her face as she focused on the text in front of her.

"Good morning, Ms. Steele," I smiled as I leaned across her for a mug off the shelf. Her head shot up at my greeting. My reaching put myself closer than comfort to her. Before I leaned back away it felt like our faces were only inches apart. The look on her face when she first looked up at me was one I hadn't seen before. She looked caught off guard.

"Christian. Good morning," she smiled back. And as if to regain her usual stoic demeanor, she added, "How was the rest of your walk of shame yesterday? I mean, brunch, I'm sorry" she gave a menacing grin.

"It was good, thank you" I choked out as I took my coffee and left her presence.

As I made my way back to my office, I texted Kate and Jason to meet me there since I had some things to talk to them about. I sat at my desk and set up my work space as I waited. Not long after I heard a knock at my door and the two of them walked in.

"Morning, Christian" Kate said.

"What's up, buddy?" Jason added as they both took a seat in the chairs in front of my desk.

"Good morning, guys" I said, followed by a sip of my coffee. "A couple of things. First, Jason, I need to know the plans for the Victus app. The website is great, but what will the app be able to do?"

"Well, my team and I were brainstorming over the weekend and we were thinking: What if we designed the app to have a bill pay mechanism. Once the customer's meal is done, they don't have to wait for the check. They log into the app, pay their bill and leave with no hassle."

"That's good. It gets me thinking that we could make the whole experience electronic. What if they order from their phones too? No servers, no mistakes, just click to order and click to pay. Victus would become the first fully electronic restaurant on the scene. All the servers would have to do is deliver the food to the right table." I devised aloud.

"Ya know, Christian that's not a bad idea. We already have the 'Design Your Plate' option and we could just add a button to place the order once they have decided what they want."

"I like it. I'll run it by Robin the next time we talk." I said feeling pretty satisfied and wondering what Ana would think of the idea. "Once we get the ok, I need you and your team of app designers to get busy."

"Will do boss" he said back.

"Kate, I've got a different issue that I need your help with. The billing department is falling behind on processing payments. I've got about twenty of our businesses calling customer service wondering why their payment hasn't processed yet. We're gonna have to expand the department with new hires, but until then I need someone to keep the people we have on track."

"So, what do you need me to do?" she asked. As we spoke, I noticed Ana was standing in the doorway. She motioned for me to ignore her and continue, but she looked angry. I continued anyway, feeling nervousness build in my gut.

"I'll need you to sort of take on the role of billing manager on top of being the account manager. Just until we get caught up."

"Alright, I'll do what I can" she said not sounding pleased.

"Thank you. I appreciate you both so much. Now get outa here," I dismissed them. They each greeted Ana as they passed her on their way out. I watched Ana close the door behind them, confining us alone in the room together. The calm tone she usually had was masked by a tone of dismay.

"What the fuck was that, Christian?" She stalked towards me as she spoke harshly.

"What was what?" I hadn't ever seen her like this before.

"That! You call a meeting with your two department heads to talk about huge changes and where was I?" I could hear her voice raising with each word.

"Ana, you would have been briefed on whatever we talked about as soon as possible." I tried to explain.

"No. You don't 'brief' me, Christian" her fingers formed air quotes. "You include me immediately and wait for my approval to move forward on anything."

"With all due respect, Ana, this is my branch" I defended myself. Ana put herself directly in front of my desk. She placed her hands far apart on the glass surface and leaned forward so her face was right in line with mine.

"This may be your branch, Christian, but you fall under my regional jurisdiction. You run things by me and I call the shots. Understood?"

We looked at each other for a long moment in silence coated in frustration. I was pissed. _I run this place fine on my own. She doesn't have to control everything._ As is she heard exactly what I was thinking, she straightened herself out with a deep breath. Her eyes softened.

"I don't like feeling out of control. I like to always know what's going on and I never want to be taken by surprise. I don't mean you can't keep control of your team's projects, but run things by me. Include me."

As she spoke I softened as well. She's clearly a control freak, but I can try to work with her.

"You're right" I said and she looked at me, surprised. "We're a team. I should have had you in here to know what was going on".

"Especially if you're reassigning leadership roles," she added in a way that seemed almost like she was testing me; seeing if she could push anymore, but I let it go.

"Right, I'm sorry" I said, just trying to appease her at this point.

The satisfaction that spread across her face was evident in her slight smile.

"Good. Thank you, Christian. I'm glad you can be…" she paused, choosing her next words carefully, "a team player".

"Me too, I guess" I sighed and looked down at my computer just wanting to get back to work.

"I'll let you work" she said, again like she could read my mind. She made her way to the closed door and reached for the knob.

"I almost forgot," she paused in her place and turned to look back at me. "The whole reason I came to your office was to ask you a favor."

I looked up from my screen and was met by her eyes on me.

"I'm going down to the Victus renovation site this afternoon to talk to Robin about progress. Would you like to come with me? It sounds as if you have some things to run by him anyway".

I blinked in somewhat astonishment of her consistently changing demeanor.

"Yes, I would like that, thank you"

"Perfect. We'll leave around four o' clock". She smiled and left, closing the door behind her.

A/N: BAM! Two chapters in one day! I have chapter 6 all planned out and ready to be written so you should see that soon too. XOXO


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the day went by faster after I had spoken with Ana. I felt more focused. More driven. I wanted to convince myself that it was because this trip to Victus would mean I would get to leave the office one hour earlier, but I knew it was probably because I would get to spend time with Ana. A few minutes before the clock read 4:00PM I began collecting my things. The moment the three turned to a four, I heard a light knock on my door. I looked up to see the ever so punctual Ana standing at the door to my office.

"You ready to head out?" She asked, casually.

"Yeah, just let me shut down my computer," I leaned over my desk to switch the computer off and then made my way to where she was. I got to the doorway and for a moment she didn't move to let me through, but instead looked at me with that same small attractive smile I had seen only twice before.

"I'm ready," I said trying to break whatever tension seemed to be building in those few seconds.

"Great, let's go," she chimed and we turned the corner towards the elevator.

The cab ride to Victus was thankfully short. Not many words were exchanged between me and Ana which made stepping out of the car a relief compared to how thick the air felt in there. We both took a moment to look at the front of the building before we entered. The restaurant was situated on the corner of one if the oldest intersection in Seattle. The area itself was historic, as was this building, complete with cornice detailing around the edges and a keystone arch around every window and door. Nothing on the exterior suggested this would become the newest, most advanced restaurant in the city except for the large tarp hung above the main entrance reading "UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP. GRAND RE-OPENING COMING FEBRUARY" in large block lettering. After a moment of appreciating the momentous architecture, I pulled the large wooden door open and held it as Ana stepped in. I followed behind her letting the heavy door slam behind me. The inside of the restaurant was a shell of the building as everything from the original interior, except the grand molded walls, vaulted ceilings and grand staircase, were gutted last month to make way for the many changes coming. Each step Ana took in her shiny black heels echoed through vast space.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I prompted as we both stood in the center of the renovations, gawking at the building's ability to be elegant even with paint-splattered plastic sheets and construction tools decorating every crevice.

"It is," she agreed.

"I used to come here whenever my mother would come to town. It's her favorite place to get lobster. When I told her Northbound was taking over the new marketing, she nearly fainted," I laughed to myself thinking of my mother and her dramatics.

"You should have her come out to the grand re-opening as an honored guest. I'm sure Robin can be persuaded to edit the list," Ana said, smiling at me.

"That's a wonderful idea. She would love that," I said, not enjoying the feeling I now had in my stomach.

Before either one of use could say another word, a loud, bodiless voice echoed through the still air.

"Welcome!" the voice said.

Ana and looked up to where the voice seemed to be coming from, but as our eyes searched, we saw no one.

"Isn't this place incredible? A real gem!" The voice boomed again. Just then, Robin appeared from the long hallway heading to the back kitchen area. Robin looked much younger than I had imagined him to be. He couldn't have been but five years older than Ana and myself. His hair was a mess of dirty blonde hair that looked to have been submerged in chlorine for too long due to the slight green tint to it. His skin looked to be a dark tan in contrast to his white dress shirt and khaki colored slacks. Once he approached us, he went straight for Ana.

"You must be Anastasia!" he grabbed her by the shoulders and looked as if he was about to lean into her for a kiss before her hand met his chest and stopped his movement.

"Robin, I presume?" she smiled politely at him, but the glimmer in her eye looked dangerous. Like a warning.

"The one and only, sweetheart! And who's your friend?" he turned to me. His smile now looked more like a sneer.

"I'm Christian Grey, the marketing branch manager at Northbound," I extended my hand for a shake, but he had already turned his attention back to Ana. I tucked my rejected hand into my pants pocket and my eyes rolled before they met with Ana's. She was looking at me instead of Robin who was now rambunctiously trying to give her the "grand tour". For the entire time her eyes were locked with mine I couldn't hear anything his loud and obnoxious voice was saying. Instead of following Robin from place to place as he raved about the original plasterwork, Ana came to stand next to me.

"Ana, my love!" he called once he reached the base of the grand staircase that sat in the center of the space, "My office is this way. Leave the boy to look around and I can show you my plans for the renovations."

"Robin, don't be silly," she called back before moving even an inch, "Christian is my branch manager. His role in this project is just as important as mine, I can assure you. He'll need to see these plans as well."

"Yes, of course!" He said with a small hint of sarcasm to his tone as he continued his way up the stairs.

Ana then did something my body wasn't evidently ready for. She wrapped her arm underneath mine and took hold of my upper arm bicep, linking us together. She leaned he head closer to mine as we made our way forward.

"Do not leave me alone with that man," she said in a hushed tone so as to not let him hear us. Her words alarmed me.

"Are you uncomfortable? Is he making you uncomfortable?" I asked because he had certainly already made _me_ uncomfortable.

"Not uncomfortable, but he is getting on my last nerve."

"Are you worried he'll try something inappropriate?"

"Oh I'm almost certain he would, but that's not what worries me. What worries me is what I would do to him if he did." Her voice sounded almost like a low growl. I felt bad that I had found the sound almost sexy.

We continued up the stairs which took us to the balcony floor that framed the perimeter of the upper half of the space with marble barriers that matched the staircase. In one of the corners was doorway I assume once has an actual door, but now was covered by a red curtain. I concluded that this doorway lead to Robin's office as he disappeared behind the scarlet drape. We followed him into the room that was a mess of papers and blueprints.

"This is where the magic happens," he exclaimed, looking right at Ana. She returned his gaze with a scowl, but still followed him to his antique wooden desk. Laid out on top of it where digital imaginings of the updated design. One showed the new dining area, another showed the bar designs and the last showed the kitchen. "The plan is to make this place look like a whole new restaurant, save the original walls and staircase. Other than that, this place won't be recognizable to even the most loyal patron.

"These look spectacular, Robin. You'll have tell me who your designer is," Ana said running her hands over the images.

"Oh, I'll give you whatever you want, my dear," He said back.

 _Is this guy for real?_ I thought to myself as I looked at the plans. The old chandeliers were to be replaced with newer, bigger ones made entirely out of crystal. The furniture was a unique modern yet elegant design he must be having costume built. The bar area was completely covered in grey marble and the kitchen was all stainless steel with the most state-of-the-art appliances for commercial cooking. The guy seems like a scumbag, but I had to admit he knew what he was doing. The concepts looked stunning.

"So, Robin," I began to speak, "I know my team reached out to get someof this concept art sent over to us so that we could use it temporarily for the virtual tour feature we'll be adding to the website. Did you send them to us?" I asked.

"Ah yes, see, I've been thinking about that."

"Is there a problem with that plan?" Ana interjected.

"No problem at all, except I don't want to do it anymore," He said with a laugh that almost sounded nervous. So Ana had this effect on everyone, not just me. Good.

"That sounds like a problem, Robin," Ana's voice was beginning to show her irritation.

"No, no, no! No problems here! I just want these designs to remain under wraps until the right time. I want there to still be a virtual tour once the renovations are actually complete, but I don't want us sharing the designs before we re-open. I want the first time people walk through those doors to be a shock to their system. I want them to be blown away by what they see! And I can't have that is they've all gotten an eyeful from the concept art already." Robin sat down in the tall backed, tufted, brown leather chair and leaned back as far as it would go. He crossed on leg over the other, bringing both his hands together as if her were about to start praying and lifted them up to his chin. He looked anxiously at Ana as he waited for her response.

"Alright, Robin. I understand that. We'll let our team know to not even put the virtual tou page on the site until the grand reopening commences."

"Oh, yes perfect. Thank you, Ana," he sighed in relief.

"What about any of the other new features?" I chimed in now. "Would you like us to wait on featuring the new menu and list of musical performances until you open as well?"

"Good question," Ana added, looking at Robin for his answer.

"No, no, no. All that is fine! You can put those us as soon as we have it all completed. It's just the aesthetic that I want to be a surprise."

We continued reviewing plans together for another twenty minutes or so until the lead contractor arrived. From there we were taken to the major construction areas and given an idea of how the work will pan out in the end. The whole visit overall took about two hours before Ana and I decided we had enough information to leave. Once again Robin tried to kiss Ana as they said their goodbyes and he didn't even bother to say anything to me. As we left the building, I began ordering myself a car to take myself home and a separate car for Ana.

"God, that was exhausting," she exhaled as we stood at the curb. "I'm starving now."

I hands froze on my phone screen, not daring to continue in ordering cars that would separate us for the night.

"Would you like to grab some dinner before we go home? We can use it as a chance to decompress and talk about whatever just happened in there," I added a chuckle to the end of my proposal in hopes that it would mask the intensity I was feeling with a lighthearted tone. She looked at me for a moment with a look of curiosity before answering.

"Yeah, that sounds nice actually," She smiled before adding, "But let's try something other than poutine this time, maybe?"

"What? You mean to tell me that after trying it once, it's not all you want to eat for the rest of your life?"

"That's exactly what I mean," she laughed and the sound was beautiful.

"Alright fine, I know a place with excellent sushi, how does that sound?"

"Perfect!" she said and once again linked her arm with mine. "Lead the way."

A/N: Chapter 7 is all planned out and coming soon! I think you guys will like it ;) ;) Until next time, stay kinky, my friends.


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